Opulence Is My Middle Name

Okay, that's a lie. In fact, I'm kinda poor. My version of opulence would be being able to pay someone else to do cover designs and still having enough leftover to buy veggie burgers and a new pair of headphones. It would be being able to buy a new laptop, since that one that died on me last week is clearly done with life.

Alas, I can't really afford anything on that list, so I'll keep going DIY on covers (no big deal, since I'm also a graphic designer, but I like other people's art more than my own - who doesn't) and using broken headphones that I have to twist right in order to get them to work. That's how I roll.

I think a lot of people have this misconception that I have all of my shit together, or that, because I'm an author, I must be rich. The thing is, and if you're an author, especially an indie one, you will know this - we don't make much.

I mean, there are exceptions, obviously. There are indie authors out here who are killing it.

Then, there are the rest of us. The market is overflowing, and there are only so many readers. Even I'm skeptical of self-published books, sometimes. Probably the only indie authors who I don't really hesitate before reading one of their books is Nenia Campbell and Heather Crews. Wart Hill is really good, too.

And Leah Raeder/Elliot Wake, but he isn't self-pubbing anymore. Which is good, considering those books need to reach the widest audience possible. I need someone to share the pain with, since those books destroyed me.

My point is, it's scary taking a chance on a new author, especially an indie. It's why I run so many free promotions.

But we all know the only thing we can do is keep working at it, because the alternative is not doing anything at all, and that's a decidedly ugly alternative. But I can't lie and say I didn't come into this as a newbie without any dreams of blowing up and becoming some fancy bestseller. Isn't that what we all dream of?

Well, that, and becoming a top secret agent and/or contract killer for a government agency shrouded in mystery. Unless that one is just me?

Anyway, I just got home from a friend's place, and published Rage and the Rage/Frenzy collection the other day, so today is mostly writing and marketing stuff, and I figured I'd share the music that's getting me through it with you guys: